The Simplest Things
by dragonfly-rising
Summary: A twist of fate changes Kagome into something the Inuyasha gang are unfamiliar with. Curing her will test them all in ways they never expected.
1. The Beginning

The Simplest Things  
  
By: dragonfly-rising  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters...so far  
  
It began with a simple thing. A twist within a timeline that had already become so twisted that none would have noticed if not for the patient attention of one whom this particular timeline meant everything to. It might have resolved itself within moments of the occurrence considering it appeared to be a natural twist except that at the same instance another group who always watched noticed it as well. Still there would have been a chance to thwart the warps within the timeline that is if this other group had not immediately acted upon such a thing happening and involved themselves in something they had no business in. In the end all that could be understood about the events was that those who should have stayed out of it did not and those who had every right to intercede held back too long. The only saving grace in the entire situation was that an entity that had long been neutral in such things decided to intervene on behalf of a particular spirit surprising all that looked on. It was also understood that it was up to those that were most affected to put right what had gone so terribly wrong.  
  
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Kagome paused leaning against the huge tree that had once held an ensorcelled Inuyasha against it. She had long ago taken to spending as much time as she could sitting on the huge roots that grew out of the ground, her back to the trunk of the ancient tree. It was a symbol of great importance to her and she had come to love it for all that it had brought to her and for what it reminded her of in the future as she would sit in much the same way waiting for Inuyasha to come fetch her or to steal a quiet moment for herself between school and the search for the Shikon Jewel shards. The great tree relaxed her in ways she could never fully explain to anyone else and she never tried to explain the peace that filled her whenever she was near it. She was certain Inuyasha thought she was insane to spend as much time as she did at the sight of such terrible heartache for the half demon. She knew Inuyasha stayed as far away from the tree as was possible and she understood his reasoning for it.  
  
A soft wind rustled the leaves above her head and she found herself looking up into the huge canopy that was dotted with sunlight. In this brief moment she was completely at ease, no thought bothered her as she enjoyed the stillness of the forest and the light smells that lingered in the breeze around her. A small sound alerted her to the fact that someone else was nearby, purposely being loud.  
  
~ It must drive him crazy to force himself not to move as silently as he can. ~ She thought with amusement.  
  
She brought her attention away from the tree and found herself looking at Inuyasha who stood not ten feet away. She smiled softly at him and was not surprised when he returned the smile, although his held a hint of uncertainty to it. In these small moments she shared with him, when they were both still and quiet she found her heart filling with love for the hanyou and knew she could never live without his presence in her life.  
  
His brow began to furrow and she realized he would soon break the silence ending the perfect moment. She moved to stand, placing a hand against the tree to steady herself. She hoped she would move fast enough to keep Inuyasha from saying something that would annoy her. She heard him move to help her down and glanced over at him. His hand was reaching towards her. Reflexively she also reached a hand out to him. A small blush graced her cheeks as she noted how he looked up at her, his golden eyes clear of doubt or apprehension.  
  
~ Oh I do love you Inuyasha ~ she thought to herself.  
  
It was in this moment, before their outstretched fingers could touch that something engulfed Kagome causing her to snatch her hand away from Inuyasha. Her miko powers automatically identified the heated electric thrill that filled her as natural magics though foreign and did not respond to protect her in any way. Perhaps if they had the entire happenstance would have been avoided. Instead she found herself gasping deeply, her back arching. Her body shivered violently and she felt and heard a loud roar as if something were being sucked into a drain. She turned and fell against the tree, her body relaxing. The last thing she felt before fainting was the impression upon her body of something large covering her frame.  
  
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The entity that resided inside of the ancient tree felt the pulse of the timeline as it slipped into its change. Normally it would have ignored such occurrences with its usual bend towards allowing nature to flow, as it should without a thought. Instead it had come to appreciate the spirit of a certain human female through the long, peaceful interludes that it shared with the child. Her powers had been what had brought its attention to her in the first place. It had not reacted once in the entirety of its existence to the world around it, accepting as only the old and wise can that change was a constant of life and that the only reaction to such things that made sense was to accept these changes and move with them. It had existed in the world for a long time, had noted without action all the things that happened around it. It had been aware when the miko had sealed the hanyou to it those many years ago, though to it the measure of time was but a moment. It had noted when the hanyou had been released with much the same neutrality that it had always exhibited except for one thing. In all its time on the earth it had not once encountered such a soul as the one that had freed the hanyou and despite its record detachment it had found itself paying much more attention to her from that moment on. It had been deeply pleased when she had begun to spend time with it. Her inner contentment communicated itself well to the being that inhabited the ancient tree. In reaction it had reached out to her, enveloping her in its own sense of timelessness and had been rewarded with more visits from the human that it had grown fond of.  
  
Now when the magics had reached out to erase the creature that it could not abandon it acted in the only way it could. It cradled the human into its own body and gave to her part of its own essence without hesitation.  
  
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It all happened so quickly Inuyasha was left staring dumbfounded. He blinked in astonishment, attempting to reanalyze what had just occurred. Kagome had been reaching out to him so he could help her down from her perch on the tree that he hated. Something had passed behind Kagome's eyes and she had jerked away from his touch from what he could only guess was a protective motion. She had not seemed to be in pain but her body had tensed and he could have sworn her body had wavered from solid to see through to solid again. When she had leaned back against the tree it had...enfolded her completely with its bark, reacting like a father protecting its child. Now through the semi transparent bark that enveloped Kagome Inuyasha could see the girl changing while a nimbus of light green energy surrounded her.  
  
Finally shrugging off the initial shock Inuyasha bound up onto the protruding root and placed his clawed hands on what could only be described as a pod. As he looked closer he could see that her hair was lengthening, already down to the back of her knees. Her skin was changing color darkening to a light green and it was gaining a grained look very similar to the bark that bound her to the tree. His eyes traveled her body in confusion picking up the smallest detail. The ends of her fingers had lengthened slightly looking almost like the ends of a branch. Even her clothes had been a part of the change. Her school uniform became absorbed into her body only to reappear instantly in the form of a dress that hugged her frame. One strap of this dress crossed one of her shoulders leaving the other bare, a spilt down the front of the dress began mid thigh and ran the length of the dress that ended just shy of her ankles.  
  
With a strange tearing sound the pod that Kagome laid in split down the middle, and Inuyasha grabbed at the girl pulling her free instantly. He knelt with her cradled in his arms and brushed the strange dark green hair from her face. He was relieved to see she still breathed normally though she was unconscious. When he gently stroked her cheek he found that even with the odd markings on her face her skin still felt soft and warm. He took a moment just to stare at her, unable to form a coherent thought for the longest time.  
  
Finally he stood up with the girl in his arms and raced away from the hated tree towards the village his mind racing with too many thoughts and a certain kind of bewilderment. 


	2. Confusion At Its Utmost

The Simplest Things  
  
By: dragonfly-rising  
  
Kagome sat up with a start breathing harshly, shaken from the nightmare that still twisted in her mind. She had been trapped somewhere in the dark well away from anything she needed. It had been terrifying and painful. Unbalanced from the nightmare Kagome shifted and put her hand down to stand. The instant her hand touched the dead wood of Kaede's hut Kagome jerked it way feeling soiled. She sprang to her feet holding the hand that had touched the vile flooring against her chest and took in her surrounding with growing anxiety and confusion. It took her only a moment for her to realize that she was inside Kaede's dwelling...INSIDE!! Panicked she put a hand to her temple attempting to calm herself. There had to be a reason they would put her inside, perhaps she had done something horribly wrong and this was a punishment.  
  
A low moan of terror escaped her as she stared in confusion at the walls of the room she was trapped in. She couldn't bring herself to leave the relative safety of the blanket she stood on, to touch the wood again. She noticed with frustration that there was a small window not far from the blanket where moonlight pooled on the floor. It was so close that she imagined she could force herself to run to it for a moment before whimpering and wrapping her arms around herself. She could not bare the touch of the floor; it hurt her spirit to feel the dead wood so intimately.  
  
Slowly she collapsed upon the blanket, tears springing to her eyes.  
  
~Why would they do this to me? ~ Her troubled mind whispered in anguish.  
  
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"It has to be some kind of curse." Shippo insisted angrily.  
  
"Aye it could be child but there is no evidence of such a thing." Kaede agreed.  
  
Inuyasha shook his head in annoyance. It had been hours since he had brought Kagome to Kaede. Hours and hours of debating what it could be but nothing being resolved. Miroku and Sango insisted it was the work of Naraku. Shippo and Kaede were convinced it was a curse that had absolutely nothing to do with Naraku. Inuyasha himself wasn't so certain that it was such a malignant purpose that was behind the whole thing. He couldn't shake the fact that the entire time Kagome had been encased in the pod he had not once thought of it being an evil spell that was affecting her.  
  
His ears perked as a small sound came from the room Kagome was asleep in. The sound was of a small child crying miserably and secretively so as not to anger the adults further. Concerned Inuyasha went quickly to the door and slid it aside. What he saw not only confused him but also made his heart drop. Kagome was sitting in the middle of the blanket he had laid on her earlier with a hand over her mouth as she sobbed. Fresh tears ran continuously down her cheeks.  
  
"Kagome?" He ventured softly, stepping further into the room.  
  
She jerked violently and stared up at him. His brow furrowed when he saw the hopeless, terrified look in her eyes. She was shivering in her fear.  
  
"Kagome what's wrong?" He asked stepping up to her in one swift motion to kneel beside the blanket.  
  
"I'm sorry I'm sorry Inuyasha I won't do it again I swear I won't ever do it again!" She cried desperately to him, speaking so fast it made his head spin.  
  
"What are you talking about?" He asked even more confused.  
  
One of her small hands reached out to grasp the edge of his robe, clutching it tightly. She pulled herself closer to him and he could feel how strong her shivering was through the contact. Without thinking he put his hands on her shoulders hoping the contact would quiet the tremors but they only worsened as she looked into his eyes.  
  
"What ever I did to be put here...in this this dead place...I'm sorry I swear please just tell me what I did wrong and I won't ever ever ever ever do it again. Please just take me out of here please!" Her voice rose as she spoke and Inuyasha's concern grew in leaps and bounds.  
  
"Kaede!" Inuyasha shouted pulling Kagome against his chest trying to comfort her.  
  
He could not stand the shrill edge of the fear in her voice it cut him to the core to hear such fright from her. He didn't understand why she was acting as if she had done something wrong and that they were punishing her. He heard Kaede come into the room and looked at her knowing his face held his worry and not caring. Kaede gazed at Kagome with a frown.  
  
"Kaede please tell Inuyasha I'm not a bad person...tell him to take me out of this awful place...tell him please!" Kagome choked out noticing the old woman.  
  
"Be at ease child, what is the matter?" Kaede asked softly.  
  
"Why would you do this to me? Why won't any of you take me from this place of death? I can feel it all around me...clawing at me...I can hear the wood singing of life that use to be...please Kaede please I can't be here...I can't feel the air...I'll die in here if you don't tell him to take me out." Kagome whispered in childlike confusion.  
  
"Gods damn me...Inuyasha take her outside now!" Kaede ordered.  
  
Inuyasha nodded and swept the still shivering Kagome into his arms. It took only a few seconds for him to get her outside but the entire time she clung to him tightly and buried her face in his shoulders as if she could not endure to look at the hut even for a moment. Once outside Kagome immediately shoved herself out of his arms and ran to the nearest tree hugging it tightly to her. The others piled out of the hut noisily. Kaede came up beside him.  
  
"I apologize child I had not thought it would affect you in such a way to be inside." Kaede apologized to Kagome.  
  
The tremors subsided from Kagome as she turned from the tree. Her face held a world of confusion in it.  
  
"How could you not know Kaede?" She asked simply.  
  
"Kagome I do not think you understand what has happened to you..." Miroku began.  
  
"Happened to me? Nothing has happened to me except the people I trusted betrayed me." She said softly.  
  
"Kagome that's just not true." Sango gasped.  
  
"What else would you call it Sango?" Kagome ventured in her quiet voice "I have never gone into Kaede's hut...never. You all know that I hate such dwellings, that it hurts me to touch the wood, yet you put me in there."  
  
"We do?" Shippo squeaked.  
  
"Of course you do...when did you all become so ignorant of dryads?" She asked innocently. 


	3. Cycle Of Pain

The Simplest Things  
  
By: dragonfly-rising  
  
"A WHAT?!" Inuyasha exclaimed unnerved by the unfamiliar term Kagome had used to describe herself.  
  
Kagome stared at him in what could only be described as disturbed perplexity. It was almost comical the way her eyebrows had disappeared under her bangs but he could not find it in himself to express his amusement over the facial expression at the moment.  
  
"Child...there has been a change..." Kaede began haltingly.  
  
Kagome's hands flew up to her mouth and her eyes grew wide, "Did Naraku steal your memories of me? How awful for you!"  
  
Inuyasha allowed a small sound of frustration to escape him, "Not in us, in you!"  
  
"Huh?" Again her eyebrows rose into her bangs.  
  
"Please Inuyasha" Sango practically hissed as she strode past him and stepped up to Kagome.  
  
Kagome gazed at her attentively her face the perfect example of innocent mystification. Sango smiled softly at her and took the girl's hands in her own. Sango took a deep steadying breath as she searched her mind for the words to help clear up Kagome's obvious puzzlement.  
  
"Listen, something happened to you this afternoon while you were at the tree..."  
  
"But nothing can happen to me there Sango, you know that. My guardian would never allow it." Kagome broke in.  
  
Sango resisted the urge to squeeze Kagome's hands in frustration. It seemed like she was being simple-minded on purpose but Sango knew Kagome couldn't fake the change in her behavior and reasoned that it was something normal for this dryad creature Kagome claimed to be.  
  
~ Spirits help us if that is true. ~ Sango thought.  
  
"Just listen and don't interrupt okay?" Sango asked earnestly.  
  
Kagome nodded hesitantly, "I'm sorry Sango"  
  
Sango shook her head a little, a little unnerved by the apologetic look that had sprung to Kagome's face.  
  
"You changed from a human to this...dryad. Inuyasha brought you here so that Kaede could help change you back" Sango stated simply.  
  
Kagome stared at her wide-eyed wonder for a moment before bursting into a fit of laughter. Sango dropped the girl's hands and folded her arms across her chest.  
  
"It isn't funny Kagome." Sango said bitingly.  
  
Kagome's continuous mirth filled the air and for a moment Sango could have sworn that an answering ghostly laughter sprang up around Kaede's hut coming from all around them. Sango bit her lip and glanced back at the others. Inuyasha was nervously looking around, his ears twitching steadily in time with the strange laughter. Miroku simply shrugged at her. Kaede only had eyes for Kagome.  
  
Slowly Kagome's laughter subsided, as did the echoing laughter. Kagome wiped tears of merriment from her eyes fixing Sango with a look that was kind but strangely pitying.  
  
"I apologize Sango but for you to tell me I was human just this afternoon when I have been alive in the forest for hundreds of years as a dryad is just something that I can't except." Kagome explained sincerely.  
  
Sango sighed heavily. It was not that she was completely unnerved by that haunting laughter that had been around them moments ago although she had to admit to herself that she was unnerved by it. It was that she could see the utter conviction in Kagome's eyes that Sango was mistaken. Miroku stepped up beside her.  
  
"Allow me Sango, perhaps I can explain this better." Miroku pleaded softly.  
  
There was a note of gentleness in Miroku's voice that Sango was unfamiliar with so she stared at him dubiously. Miroku waited patiently for her to come to her decision. Finally with many misgivings she nodded slowly, barely noticing that Inuyasha had walked up beside Miroku. Looking at both men she realized that they had something in mind that was not going to be gentle and barely held back a protest. If she could not get through to Kagome perhaps they could.  
  
"Kagome do you remember when you first met Inuyasha?" Miroku asked the girl in his gently manner, looking directly at her.  
  
Kagome blinked in surprise, "Yes of course I do."  
  
"Can you tell me how it happened?" Miroku requested.  
  
Now Kagome's brow furrowed slightly but she nodded, "His human love bound him to my guardian with a spell".  
  
Sango did not miss that Inuyasha looked away from Kagome and stared at the ground, tension obvious in his shoulders and in the way his clawed hands curled into fists.  
  
"How was he freed Kagome?" Miroku prompted.  
  
With growing alarm rising on her face Kagome first looked at Inuyasha then back to Miroku her head shook slightly in negation. Miroku breathed deeply then reached out and placed his hands on Kagome's upper arms.  
  
"Tell me Kagome how was Inuyasha free from the tree?" Miroku demanded forcefully.  
  
"it's not possible" Kagome whispered to him.  
  
"You know how it happened Kagome you have to say it. You know exactly how he was freed. Tell me." Miroku snapped.  
  
Kagome's whole body shook violently and she wrenched herself from Miroku's grasp backing up against the tree she had earlier clung to in her relief to be outside. Kagome once again shook her head, almost desperately. If Sango had not seen the anguished look on Miroku's face she would have struck the monk for being cruel to the girl. Sango had always known of his deep friendship with Kagome and knew it was testing his limits for him to be as he was towards her.  
  
"Say it Kagome. You remember...I can see it on your face." Inuyasha chimed in quietly.  
  
Sango wondered what it cost the hanyou to force Kagome to relive something he himself was hard pressed to think of. Kagome's eyes snapped to Inuyasha's face her own drawn in denial and infinite sadness.  
  
"I was watching over you.... I came to you out of the well...for fifty years I guarded your soul...I was from another time a human girl...you had been a part of me forever...I reached out in panic and touched the arrow that bound you...you were no longer a part of me..." She whispered disjointedly as tears rolled down her cheeks.  
  
"Kagome..." Inuyasha whispered trying to stop her rambling.  
  
"There has always been only you Inuyasha. You and I locked together over time and spell." Her face held remorse and longing.  
  
"That's enough Kagome don't continue." Inuyasha pleaded in a choked voice.  
  
"Only you Inuyasha and my guardian...I am a lie" Kagome whispered, heart felt agony apparent in her voice.  
  
Sango felt tears well into her eyes. Listening to Kagome realize the truth was one of the most wrenching moments Sango had endured. Kagome looked to the ground, both her hands resting palm down on the tree she leaned against.  
  
"I'm sorry...I was mistaken." Kagome uttered.  
  
Sango opened her mouth to say something to the girl only to feel her jaw drop as Kagome seemed to fade into the tree and disappear. 


	4. Troublesome Thoughts

The Simplest Things  
  
A/N: Sorry all that it is taking so long for me to update this story between my crabby old computer deciding all on its own when it is going to work and life I just haven't been able to spend as much time as I would like posting. So if there are any other delays my apologies ahead of time, sometimes ya just gotta work with what ya have. dragonfly-rising  
  
By: dragonfly-rising  
  
Kagome ran through the forest with sure steps knowing intimately the way to her guardian tree. She felt little guilt over leaving her friends in the manner that she had, after all they knew she did cast glamours from time to time to collect her thoughts away from the prying eyes of others. It was a simple magic that any of her kind could accomplish with a small effort.  
  
~ How could they not know me? How could I not know myself? ~ She thought desperately as she moved deftly through the forest.  
  
She remembered vividly all the moments she had shared with Inuyasha and yet jumbled between it all were intense memories that could only have come from a human. Her own dryad memories warred savagely with the human ones. She could feel the arrow as it embedded itself inside of her guardian flaring wildly with miko energies, pinning Inuyasha to her for years. She could remember the time as it passed, feeling his heartbeat as it echoed against her own inside her tree. Granted she could also remember the wild beating of her human heart as she faced Mistress Centipede and reached for that very same arrow hoping the dog boy could and would save her from the monster that was threatening her life. And in the midst of these confusing memories was love, always love for Inuyasha and a need to help him live beyond what his lover had condemned him to by using her magics against him.  
  
With these strange thoughts tumbling inside her mind Kagome found herself stumbling to the foot of her guardian tree, falling to her knees before she could touch the bark of it and seek solace in its unending sense of eternity. She stared blankly at the ground, attempting to come to terms with what she had learned, what she wanted to deny with every fiber of her being. For a time without end she had known life as a dryad, she had weathered so many changes in the environment around her. She had survived many lifetimes of danger from human, youkai, and nature itself. And for all that she knew to be true she had imagined living on past even Inuyasha who would, as all things of flesh and bone, eventually grow old and die. She would not grow old and die as long as her guardian existed. It was a simple truth, the simplest of lies.  
  
Finally she looked up at her guardian and for the first time in her existence felt betrayed. She knew she had used this word to Inuyasha and the others before but she had only meant it in the context that she understood it, not attaching it to the feeling she had rising inside of her as she gazed at the tree that had not once seemed duplicitous.  
  
~ And now my guardian will you lie to me? Will you tell me what my heart yearns to know or will you throw me further away all I have known...from myself? ~ She asked of it silently.  
  
The tree did not answer her, nor could it without her physical touch but she resisted the impulse to touch it. She knew she was denying herself now but she could not bring herself to do it. Her heart ached for the answers to her questions but it wanted to avoid asking anything that might destroy it even further. She wanted to know and she did not want to know anything at all. For a moment she pondered leaving the vicinity of the tree, never touching it again, never dwelling inside of its heart.  
  
With a strangled sob she threw herself at the tree, embracing it as best she could and called on the entity that resided inside of it.  
  
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"Where did she go?!" Sango exclaimed after a long silence from everyone else.  
  
"I don't know" Miroku answered her just as confused.  
  
Miroku turned to Inuyasha who had moved off from them sniffing the air around the tree Kagome had appeared to vanish into. He put a hand to the trunk then bent down sniffing at the ground beside it. After a few tense moments he stood up, dusting his hands off.  
  
"She went in the direction of the tree. Her scent isn't easy to pick up any more, she smells like that damn tree now. It covers up her scent almost entirely." Inuyasha commented his voice colored with annoyance.  
  
"Should we go after her?" Sango asked the men, knowing already that she at least would.  
  
Miroku and Inuyasha nodded in unison, which surprised Sango. It was a rare occasion to see the men agree on something. Sango shrugged the thought away and turned to Kaede who was staring off into the forest her face lined with concern.  
  
"Do you wish to come with Kaede?" Sango asked her politely.  
  
"Nay child this is no place for me. Bring her back if you can she should not be left alone in such a state." Kaede remarked.  
  
"If we can we will Kaede" Miroku said firmly.  
  
"Lets go already!" Inuyasha snapped.  
  
Inuyasha kept to himself that he could sense magics all around the place Kagome had been and beyond that trailing into the forest. He kept to himself that he could not discern her scent at all anymore that he was following the magics left by her to find her. He kept to himself that he had just put two and two together and guessed where Kagome had gone by the direction the magics led. He kept to himself that he could still hear the words that Kagome had said...  
  
~ There has always been only you Inuyasha. You and I locked together over time and spell. ~ 


	5. Ironies and Truth

The Simplest Things  
  
By: dragonfly-rising  
  
The group of three that went, leaving behind a troubled Kaede and Shippo, found Kagome kneeling at the base of the god tree with a forlorn look upon her face as she stared at it. They came up behind her quietly unsure as to what they should say or do. Kagome was the first to break the tense silence.  
  
"It won't answer me," She said in her new soft way.  
  
Her voice conveyed such disbelief that Miroku, Inuyasha, and Sango traded worried glances with each other. Inuyasha scowled, disturbed by the entire notion that the tree itself had a will to answer the girl.  
  
"What do you mean exactly Kagome?" Sango asked kneeling next to the girl.  
  
Kagome did not move to look at Sango, keeping her eyes fastened on the tree ahead of her. Tears coursed unchecked down her cheeks.  
  
"It said that I needed to bring Inuyasha to it. It refused to speak with me." Kagome answered cryptically.  
  
"Why me?" Inuyasha snapped before he was aware he would do so.  
  
"Youkai's have strong connections to nature Inuyasha. They have the ability to tap into the life forces of just about anything under the sun." Kagome explained.  
  
"I'm not talking to a tree." Inuyasha replied dismissively.  
  
"Inuyasha" Miroku hissed angrily.  
  
"What?" He asked annoyed by the entire affair "You're the monk you go talk to the damn tree!"  
  
"It didn't ask for me Inuyasha it asked for you. Maybe we'll get some answers from it." Miroku suggested.  
  
Inuyasha snorted, "It's a tree for crying out loud...it can't give us answers!"  
  
Kagome stood in that moment and approached Inuyasha in a short burst of speed that shocked the hanyou. From one second to the next she stood face to face with him, her strange green eyes almost glowing with the anger held in them. Inuyasha met her gaze steadily enough though his heartbeat raced with some unknown discomfort.  
  
"Do not misunderstand me Inuyasha my guardian is a living being one that I was born from. I will not stand by and allow you to insult it simply because you are ignorant of what it is. It may not speak aloud but that has never been a standard by which living beings are compared. It has known centuries of history and has existed since long before your father stepped foot in the Western Lands. You will afford it the courtesy of seeing it as a thinking entity or I swear..."  
  
"You'll what Kagome?" He interrupted in a gentle voice.  
  
Inwardly he had grown uneasy. There had been something besides anger coloring her voice as she spoke to him. His instincts had gone wild as she continued with her speech telling him to prepare himself for an attack. A strange concept that Kagome had become a thing of nature, by being so when angered could, and would lash out dangerously had entered his mind causing his disquiet. Even now her face was tight with barely repressed rage and he knew she was holding back from physically attacking him. Her body was taunt, her shoulders held ridged.  
  
"What would you do Kagome?" Miroku asked from beside her.  
  
Inuyasha felt his ears twitch in surprise though he kept his eyes steadily locked with Kagome's. He had not noticed that the monk had moved so close to them. For a split second Inuyasha thought Kagome would lash out at Miroku instead of him, darkness passed over her face that drew it into a scorn filled mask. The darkness was gone so quickly that Inuyasha thought he had imagined it, wanted badly to have imagined it. Kagome blinked and her eyes slid from his to the ground. With that motion he knew she was well aware of what he had seen. Disturbed Inuyasha looked at Miroku who only shook his head imperceptibly. Inuyasha sighed heavily. He realized belatedly that he was going to do just as Kagome had asked him no matter how he had reacted in the first place. There was something behind her eyes that screamed a lonely call to his soul and he could not bare the feeling of his own internal scream answering her's. How he felt or had felt for all this time should never have touched Kagome in such a profound way and he resented the reflection of his own inner turmoil.  
  
"You'll have to show me how to speak with it Kagome I have never done something like this before." Inuyasha offered thinking himself a fool for being the first to speak.  
  
Kagome nodded and motioned for him to follow her, which he did hesitantly. Once at the tree she stopped and raised a hand, palm open without turning to face him. He understood her meaning and placed his clawed one in her's. She gently positioned his open palm against the bark of the tree, lacing her fingers with his so that they both were in contact with the tree. The ends of her fingers seemed to slide into the bark locking his palm against it. Inuyasha closed his eyes fighting the urge to rip away from the girl's firm grip. With all his being he loathed to touch this particular tree for any span of time. He knew his distaste for it stemmed from being trapped against it for those fifty years; he could not suppress the shudder of revulsion that swept through his body as he waited for this entity to speak to him. He hated it for what it symbolized to him. His greatest personal failures were represented by this tree and he had not wanted ever to be near it again, had only forced himself to due to Kagome's strange obsession with it.  
  
Inside his mind Inuyasha more felt then heard a strange song that seemed to settle deep into his muscles, causing them to throb in time with it. Disturb he attempted to pull away from the tree only to find himself completely aware of the approach of an entity that exuded such an overwhelming sense of presence that Inuyasha unwittingly began to whimper soundlessly. 


End file.
